Remnant of a Forgotten Past
by Thanatos's Scribe
Summary: Side-story to 'Survivor of a Forgotten Past'. In the far north, a young man awakens after an undetermined amount of time, only to discover the world he's in has changed vastly than he remembered...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall or any of its characters. They are all owned by Brain Jacques, as it should be.

Note: This story is a side-story of lkcrm94's 'Survivor of a Forgotten Past' and 'Discovery of a Forgotten Past', with his permission. While you don't really need to read it to get an understanding of what's happening, I'd definitely recommend reading it for some context, if not for the sheer awesomeness that it is.

Chapter 1

War. An feat that can be triggered by the fewest of words, yet can leave some of the bloodiest stains on our history. However, when it goes to far, and leaves only a few in their wake, who can say as to what will happen those who survive?

This is one of those stories.

It was what seemed to be an ordinary day when it happened. Everyone was moving about like they had no knowledge of what would happen. Then again, if they did know, they probably wouldn't have been outside if they had. However, we'll be focusing on one particular group of people: A class of high schoolers, to be exact. The class had been visiting Lab 26, or 'Minerva's Haven' as some have called it, which had offered to show the class around the facility.

"And here we have our Research and Development team, of which our most brilliant scientists work to help the war effort," Sandra Phillips, a scientist who wore blue jeans, a red shirt, and was wearing a white lab coat said, a group of teenagers following close behind her with their teacher behind them, intent on keeping an eye on any stragglers. Following them was a squad of six soldiers, ensuring that the group in front of them wouldn't stray into places they didn't have access to. For the most part, the teenagers looked around with disinterested glances, visibly bored by the whole field trip, or just warily looking back at the soldiers. However, those who weren't in the former group, though it were few, could grasp what the importance of the room really was: Throughout the entire room, there were a multitude of scientists at each booth, working vigorously to create the best technology they could muster.

"Now, who can name some of the inventions that was produced by this lab?" The scientist asked, clapping her glove-clad hands together as he turned to the group. After several seconds passed with no answer, he pointed at one particular teen, who was leaning against a support beam, and asked the muscular male, "You, sir. Could you name one of them?"

The jock looked at the scientist with a perturbed expression on his face, then answered, "The guns that, y'know, refill by themselves?"

The scientist looked at him for a few seconds, then shook her head. "While the auto-loading firearms have become a staple item for our soldiers," She explained, "They were actually invented by Proto Corporations over 20 years ago. Good guess, though. Anyone else want to take a guess?" With one person having now answered, the awkwardness had quickly faded and several people started to give their own guesses as to what the lab had produced.

"Hover vehicles?"

"Correct. To be more accurate, Lab 26 has helped develop the C2-AR1-HV for reconnaissance and the Zephyr for commercial purposes."

"Ion-propelled planes?"

"Close, but not quite. We _did_ , however, help design the engines and well-associated EMP missiles that are included with the plane."

"The exo-suits?"

"Which ones?" Another student's voice quipped in response.

The teacher, picking up the snipe, looked at the student who had just spoken and asked the teenager, "Would you care to explain your statement of 'which ones', Marcus?" With the student being singled out, the group as a whole turned towards the now-named Marcus, awaiting his answer.

Marcus blushed slightly as Mr. Larenster pointed out his comment. He didn't mean for his comment to be heard. However, with all of his class's eyes on him, he cleared his voice and explained his comment; "Well, as I said earlier, it depends on what model you're talking about: In the case of the more popular models, such as the 'Talos' and 'Pandora' exo-suits, those were invented by the larger labs, and have existed for some time now, and the exo-suits nicknamed 'Cerberus' and 'Minos' aren't even _from_ our labs, period. However, Lab 26 _is_ responsible for the 'Vulcan' exo-suit, which is renowned for its artillery power, and the 'Aelous' exo-suit, giving the user flight capabilities on par with a jet plane and reach speeds of Mach 2, and the 'Triton' exo-suit, which can dive 10,000 feet without any side-effects, making them perfect for underwater travel and reconnaissance." By the time he had finished rambling, everyone was staring at him. After several seconds of silence, the scientist grinned wider and clapped her hands in approval.

"Very good, Marcus!," Phillips beamed, "However, I wouldn't expect anything less, since I believe your father works here. A Mr. Alexander Zennith, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's right over there, to be exact." Marcus said, pointing in the direction of said father. His dad, realizing the class was here, waved to Marcus and the others before returning to his research.

With the explanation now finished, the group turned back to the scientist, and she said to them, "However, we're running a tad behind schedule now, so if we could please keep moving?" Most were accepting of this, and followed her through the room. However, some were not so quick to forget Marcus's rant.

"Nerd," The muscular teen from earlier muttered to Marcus as the teenager bumped into him.

Marcus simply looked back at him and said in reply, "You really think it's a good idea to tease about that when you're surrounded by successful 'nerds'?" The teenager's face reddened slightly before turning back to the front, a few of the scientists who were with earshot chuckling at Marcus's apt response.

"Now, before we head onto the weapons testing field, I'd like to-" The scientist began to say, several males' heads perking up in anticipation of seeing weapons being used. Her explanation, however, would have to be left unexplained as a loud blaring noise began to reverberate throughout the entire facility. The scientist, hearing the alarm, visibly paled at the sound. Out of all of the students there, only Marcus understood what it meant, his complexion soon matching the scientist's.

"They've finally done it," He said softly, unable to accept what had happened. He had been told of the various alarms by his father the evening beforehand, and while he could see where some of them would be likely to happen (An invention gone awry, a military attack, or a power outage), this one, on the other hand, meant only one thing: M.A.D. had been achieved. Some of the nearby students, who had heard his comment, turned towards him in the hopes of getting answers. Fortunately for them, they would get their answers from a different source as the speakers began to play a message.

 _ **'Everyone, please head to the nearest bunker immediately while the Utopiadome is secured. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is NOT a drill,'**_ The overhead speakers stated in the monotonous, mildly female voice that was present for any autonomous message. Silence reigned for a seconds, then panic ensued; The teenagers, intent on only saving themselves, rushed to the bunker with a few trailing behind, while the scientists walked briskly in the direction of the bunker, leaving their projects where they lay.

Marcus was barely able to slip into the bunker in time, the massive metal doors closing only a few seconds after he slipped between the closing doors. Once the doors let out a hiss, signifying that the doors were secured shut, the student population began to talk among one another, wondering what had happened outside. However, everyone quieted down as the bunker began to shake, everyone realizing what Marcus had realized earlier.

The bunker shook repeatedly as time went on, everyone knowing that it was the bombs that were causing the earth shuddering. Some of the students whimpered as the bombs went off, crouching in hopes that they would be protected better from the explosions that way. After several minutes of the earth constantly shaking, it came to a stop. People blinked in both hope and anticipation that the bombing was over. Eventually, the speakers crackled back on again, informing them of their fate.

 _ **You may now leave the bunkers**_ , the monotonous voice said, the thick doors slowly opening to the sides. Everyone tentatively poured out of the bunker, looking around as if expecting for another bomb to come flying in the lab. When they finally realized that the bombing was over, people began to cry, either from relief that they had survived or from the shock that everyone else was most likely dead. With the explosions over, it seemed as though there was nothing that could possibly go wrong, and life could only get better.

However, this would soon be proved otherwise.


	2. Chapter 2

Several weeks had passed since 'The Great Wipeout', as it was titled by the student population, and life had toned down somewhat. While there were no more 'classes' as there was back at the school (Much to the joy of several teenagers when they heard this), they were taught how to weld, program, and help keep the Utopiadome in working condition. While there were protests at first, they eventually died down and the complainers joined the rest in helping in whatever way possible.

Sandra looked over a group of scientists and students as they worked on an area of wiring that had been damaged by the shuddering of the ground. The wires needed to be repaired immediately, or the Dome's speakers and electronic communications systems would be down for good.

"Ms. Phillips!" A voice cried out, and Sandra turned to face a young female who went by the name of Audrey McTavish. The teenager had been on the track team beforehand, making her an effective courier to help get messages across moderate distances in little time.

"What is it, Ms. McTavish?," She asked. The teenager took in a deep breath, so as to regain her calm, then looked straight at her.

"Ms. Phillips, Mr. Conahger needs for you to come quickly. He said that it was of the utmost importance," Audrey said, her face red from evidently running a far distance. Sandra's brow furrowed at this statement. While the base had been on a Level 2 shutdown, there shouldn't be any problem yet. _I can only hope that it isn't as bad as I think it is...,_ She thought as she gestured to Audrey to lead her, and briskly followed the girl as she ran towards her previous destination.

* * *

Sandra frowned as she looked upon what was in front of her. "Was this exactly as you found it?" She asked, bending down to look at the cord before her and picked it up.

"Yes, ma'am," Alex Conahger said, his hands in his pockets and looking at the mess ominously. Sandra looked at the end of the cord with displeasure, then turned towards the exit.

"Tell everyone they need to report to the main hall immediately for an emergency meeting," She said, dropping the severed cord, splattering a clear fluid across the floor. There would be hell to pay when they found out who was responsible for this.

* * *

Marcus shifted back and forth as he stood in the hall, anxious to here as to why the meeting was called. He had been working on communications in an attempt to contact other Utopiadomes, as that was second only to keeping the Utopiadome in working condition, but had been unsuccessful so far.

A sudden motion drew everyone's eyes stage-wards, and they saw Ms. Phillips step up onto the stage, drawing forth several mutters throughout the crowd. Throughout the weeks that have passed since 'The Great Wipeout', it had been quickly been established that the highest-ranking scientists, which consisted of Ms. Phillips, Mr. Conahger, and a few other scientists whose names he had not caught yet, were the leaders of the survivors, while the rest helped throughout the Dome with various tasks. For her to be speaking now...

Ms. Phillips cleared her throat, and the crowd slowly fell silent. Several seconds passed, then the scientist finally "Earlier today, Mr. Conahger has discovered that several of the Preserver Pods had been damaged, leaving only four in working condition," Ms. Phillips slowly said, and several of the scientists began to talk amongst themselves at this. Marcus's breath hitched at this declaration. The Preserver Pods, while shaped like a coffin, were meant to preserve their contents for as long as the pods are active.

"However, this was not accidental," Ms. Phillips continued, drawing everyone's attention back to her. She took a deep breath, then said three words that shook room to its core:

"They were sabotaged."

Silence prevailed for several seconds, and then the crowd erupted into a cacophony of noise. Someone had intentionally damaged the Pods?! Who would do such a thing? The crowd grew angrier and angrier, each accusing another of doing so.

" **QUIET!** " Ms. Phillips shouted before the arguing grew into a riot, intent on getting back to the topic. The crowd eventually settled down, but there were now a multitude of glares prevalent, each accusing someone of cutting the cords. "Rest assured, we _will_ find the one responsible for this. However, with only four Pods left, we have decided to put four people, whom of which will consist of two males and two females, who will be _randomly chosen_ , into the remaining pods," She said, and the crowd once again burst into chatter, wondering who would be chosen. They quieted down, though, as Mr. Conahger brought up a laptop with a projector attached to the device, emitting the image of four rapidly flipping title cards onto the wall behind it. "With this program," Mr. Conahger explained, "We'll be able to decide the four people without any interference." The crowd accepted the answer

"The first to be chosen for the men," She said, pressing down on the button, and the first title card on the left came to a stop, showing the 'lucky' person, which Ms. Phillips declared to the crowd, "Is Ben Trebek!" The crowd clapped appreciatively at this, and the muscular teen muscled his way forwards, grinning smugly out to the crowd as he stepped onto the stage.

"Now, for our women, we have..." Mr. Conahger stated, trailing off as the title, before finishing with "Audrey McTavish!" Like before, the crowd clapped on as the red-haired girl weaved through the crowd, before tentatively waving back as she stood atop the stage.

"Now, for our last male, we have..." Ms. Phillips said, pressing the button one last time for the men. The card flipped several times, each flip feeling agonizingly slow, before finally revealing...

"Marcus Zennith!"

Marcus's heart stopped at the statement. He couldn't have been chosen; He was just an average kid, he had no reason to be chosen! _Why couldn't it have been some other way of being selected, like straws? Surely it'd be likely then?!_ Marcus thought.

* * *

In another Utopiadome entirely, a certain soldier let out a sneeze, causing for the the papers he was carrying to scatter.

"You better not be getting sick, Stephen!," his commanding officer said, and the soldier nodded before kneeling to pick up his papers.

* * *

Marcus was jarred out of his thoughts as he was jostled from behind, and he turned to the person behind him. "C'mon, kid. Get up there," The man said, and Marcus nodded before slowly walking through the crowd. As he stepped on, the crowd clapped for him, and Marcus's face reddened at the attention he was getting. He didn't deserve this...

"Finally, we have..." Mr. Conahger said, thankfully drawing the attention away from Marcus, and the final card flipped twice before finally revealing, "Zinnia Stuart!" At this, a female soldier who had been standing at the edge of the room lowered her weapon, and walked forwards. The crowd watched as the soldier stepped onto the platform, her armor glinting black in the artificial light. After a little bit, the crowd began to clap for the soldier, and Ms. Phillips turned back to the crowd. With the four now chosen, Ms. Phillips gestured towards the doors, and the four soldiers closest to the platform surrounded the six, leading them to the closest exit. As the group walked towards the exit, Alex was stopped as his dad put a hand on his head.

"Stay strong, kiddo," His dad said, rustling his black hair. Marcus looked at his father for several seconds, then surprised the middle-aged man by grabbing him and giving him a hug.

"I'll miss you, dad," Marcus said teary-eyed, hugging his father tightly as if it would be the last time he would see him alive. They embraced for several seconds, then let go and Marcus began to walk towards the Pods, the group of four being escorted by four of the other soldiers.

"Wuss," Ben muttered, but kept silent as they walked down the hall. Even the bulky teen seemed to realize the importance of what was happening, and kept quiet for the others' sake.

Marcus shuddered in discomfort as he felt several pairs of eyes on him. Each step felt as though he was walking down Death Row, everyone staring at him and the other three 'participants' as they walked down the hallway. Eventually, the group arrived in front of a large, metal door, the door swinging open to let them in. The two soldiers at the rear stepped to the sides, guarding the As the group entered the room, they could see that the descriptions of the damage were apt; the cords that helped carry the preserving materials were visibly severed, their contents spilling across the floor. Despite the damage, several workers were visibly trying to repair the Pods' cords, so as to get them functional again, The group eventually stopped at the back of the room, of which four Pods were placed side by side. Unlike the other Pods, these four had light gleaming through their lids, showing that they were still operational.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a pleasure working with you," Ms. Phillips said, and the lids of the Pods slam shut, blocking anything from being seen, except for the dark metal of the lid. As the chamber begins to fill with gas, Marcus thought of what he would see when he woke up. Would his dad still be alive? How much would have changed since he was put under? Eventually, his eyes fell shut as the gas began to affect him, and the teenager fell into a deep slumber.


	3. AN: Author's Dire Note - Polls and Plans

...Well, I honestly didn't think that I would have to do this, but it seems that I must.

I first started writing on Fanfiction, I was simply writing for the pure sake of fun: Writing each new chapter just because I felt like it. However, as time passed, I became stretched out more with stuff both AFK and here with all of my stories. However, while I am able to handle stuff AFK, I find that having several stories up at the same time only ends up spreading myself too thin in regards to creativity. As such, as I was working on my latest story (Which will be followed up on and worked on regardless of what happens), I have decided to post a poll for you guys to decide which two fics I should continue working while the others will have to be put under. However, I think that some changes will need to be made for some of the fics if chosen:

Rise of the Ice Golems: This fic I had brewing in my mind for a while (several years, in fact), yet I can't help but feel as if the time brewing had left it as nothing but a thick sludge in the brewing pot of ideas.

Remnant of a Forgotten Past: Originally, this was the one fic that I actually wanted to write since Redwall was the one series that had gotten me interested in reading more diversely while Survivor of a Forgotten Past has always been and will be one of my favorite fics. If chosen, though, I promise that I'll put my nose to the grindstone and have it be the next fic updated.

Arcing Time and Space: Truthfully, while there is little chance that it'll be cancelled considering it's my second most popular fic, if this fic does end up on the chopping block, I promise that I will, at the very least, provide a list for all of the people who had OCs that were accepted into the tournament.

MineKratt: Heh, I honestly didn't think that I would have to do this to begin with. However, whereas I once had an actual plan out, I now find myself struggling to even write out the beginning of a new chapter. As such, if this does get chosen, while the original fic won't get updated, I promise that I will write a rewrite of MineKratt and work on that.

Bionicle: Descent into Darkness: To be blunt, I honestly don't see this surviving. If it even gets in the top four, I promise that I will get the help of Toa-Of-Spirit and finish it up, given that it was only meant to be a fic of five or so chapters.

For those who are interested in helping, simply pop over to my profile page and vote for the two fics you want continued. The poll will be open until the end of February, so please choose wisely on what you want continued.

Many Thanks,

Scribe of Thanatos


End file.
